(Ecofin Agency) - Société tunisienne de Banque (STB) has not been able to meet its target to raise TND50 million (about $17 million) in the bond market.

STB Finance, the state-owned bank’s subsidiary operating as a stock market intermediary, announced in a statement published on January 23, 2019, that subscriptions to the TND50 million bond operation, launched without resorting to an IPO, was concluded on January 18, 2019, with TND30 million ($10.2 million) raised.

The operation was aimed at raising medium-term stable resources to develop the bank’s operations, consolidate its equity and fund its 2018-2022 strategic plan.

In October 2018, the bank announced TND35.8 million ($12.7 million) of net profits for H1, 2018, a performance 64.4% higher on a year to year basis.